''Pannychia moseleyi'' is a

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

in the family

Laetmogonidae Laetmogonidae is a family of sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the ...

. It was first described by

Johan Hjalmar Théel Johan Hjalmar Théel (14 June 1848 – 20 July 1937) was a Swedish zoologist and university professor. Early life Théel was born on 14 June 1848 in Säter, Sweden. He used to go on hunting trips along the coast of Norway in his youth and becam ...

in 1882. It can be up to 200 mm long and 40 mm wide. It occurs in the

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

at depths greater than 400 m.

Bioluminescence

''Pannychia moseleyi'' produces

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

in the form of waves of blue and green light travelling along its body.

References

Laetmogonidae Taxa named by Johan Hjalmar Théel {{Holothuroidea-stub